Chapter 9 of The Rhymer is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Rhymer is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment. My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’ Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy. Was there anyone who would betray her? How much did Jean know, and did she gossip?
Chapter 9 of The Rhymer is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a friendly nation
From this reading “’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.”
reveal unintentionally
From this reading “Was there anyone who would betray her?”
light informal conversation for social occasions
From this reading “How much did Jean know, and did she gossip?”
subject to guidance or control especially after launching
From this reading “’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.”
-ing form of “harp” — come back to
From this reading “Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy.”
the trait of keeping things secret
From this reading “Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy.”
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading “Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy.”
not done
From this reading “My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
a friendly nation
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
any person at all
From this reading Was there anyone who would betray her?
the past participle of “be”
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
reveal unintentionally
From this reading Was there anyone who would betray her?
showing who or what does the action
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
demanding attention
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading How much did Jean know, and did she gossip?
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy.
light informal conversation for social occasions
From this reading How much did Jean know, and did she gossip?
subject to guidance or control especially after launching
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
-ing form of “harp” — come back to
From this reading Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How much did Jean know, and did she gossip?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
an instinctive motive
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
a coarse durable twill-weave cotton fabric
From this reading How much did Jean know, and did she gossip?
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading How much did Jean know, and did she gossip?
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
a particular point in time
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading How much did Jean know, and did she gossip?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy.
a strong feeling or emotion
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
used of skin roughened as a result of cold or exposure
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
the trait of keeping things secret
From this reading Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Was there anyone who would betray her?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then she fell to harping on the theme of secrecy.
not done
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Was there anyone who would betray her?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
which person or people
From this reading Was there anyone who would betray her?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading My passion has done what it will with me, and now it has undone me utterly.’
in the company of; together with
From this reading ’All my life, Ally,’ she said, her sweet voice roughened with long crying—’all my life I’ve been guided by the impulse of the moment.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Was there anyone who would betray her?
Chapter 9 of The Rhymer by Allan McAulay holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 9 holds 425 sentences of The Rhymer, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Rhymer by Allan McAulay exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 9 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Rhymer by Allan McAulay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4273 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55399 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55399, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 356 minutes of reading across 855 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rhymer section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Rhymer to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Rhymer, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
